21 June 2016 – Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga – Tuesday of the 12th week in Ordinary Time – Matthew 7:6, 12-14

    Today, we hear a passage from the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew.  We have been hearing parts of this Sermon the last couple of weeks in our daily masses.  We hear several sayings today from Jesus of the qualities that he wishes his disciples to have.  The first saying might seem enigmatic – to not throw pearls before swine, to not give what is holy to the dogs.  Jesus is advising his followers not indiscriminately to expose their beliefs to all and without prudence.   Yes, the way of Jesus is open for all; however, not everyone is ready to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and to have a heart open to its message.   There are those who will not only reject the way of Jesus, but to ridicule it again. Even I, who was a lifelong practicing Protestant who went to church every week and who practiced the Christian faith, had to go through a year-long RCIA program before I entered into the Church and received the Eucharist and any other Sacrament of the Church.  Faith in Christ is a gift and not everyone receives it at once.

      Today, as youth from our parish in Tupelo and from St Joseph Catholic Church in Starkville, we celebrate St Aloysius Gonzaga as the saint of the day. He was born into a very influential aristocratic family from Northern Italy.  Aloysius studied to become a Jesuit in spite of very poor health. He was admired by his professors and fellow seminarians for his holiness and for his devotedness to the faith.  When the plague broke out in London, he helped nurse and care for the victims, even when his superiors forbid him to do so because of his poor health.  He came down with the plague and died after being confined to his bed for several months.   He died at the age of 23 in 1591.  He is buried in the Church of St Ignatius of Loyola in Rome and was beatified only 14 years after his death.  Pope Benedict XIII declared St Aloysius as the patron saint of young students in 1729. In 1926, Pope Pius XI named his as the patron saint of all Christian youth. Due to death from the plague, he is the patron saint of plague victims and the patron saint of both AIDS sufferers and their caregivers.  As Jesus spoke about what qualities his disciples should have, we see in the virtue and courage of St Aloysius Gonzaga an example for all of us.